Interview with Emilio Moya, author of «La Duda»

Interview with Emilio Moya, author of «La Duda»

By Eva Fraile.

We talk to the writer Emilio Moya for its current reissue project of doubt together with the editor Javier Arroyo, a novel previously published by Caligrama. Moya is also working on the continuation of said novel, which is completely unpublished. In addition, I am going to ask him the question that he must have been asked the most lately: How does someone who is a numbers person get so involved in letters?

1- What inspired you to write “Doubt”?

“La duda” did not come about because it was a predefined project, nor because I had the intention of writing a novel. It all began when I created two characters on paper: Lorenzo and Ignacio, with no other intention than to satisfy a creative need. Such was the experience and depth of these characters that I felt the need to give them life, and for this I began to build them props, a past, a present and even a future. But the curious thing was that as I gave them life, they also gave me breaths of hope and encouragement, like a symbiosis. It was an enriching experience that I try to maintain. Yes, they are the reason the novel exists.

2– I guess you’ve been told this more than once, but how does someone who is a numbers person get so wrapped up in letters?

Yes, it is a common question. My interest in numbers was evident from a young age. I was very good at maths at school and I liked it, but that did not prevent me from being attracted to other types of knowledge and activities. When I had to choose between a scientific education and a humanities education, I chose the first because I liked it, I was very good at it and we were always told that there were more job opportunities. And when I had to choose which university degree to choose, I was unsure whether to choose Physics or Mathematics, and I finally chose the first. They are closed options, one or the other, and that is how you decide, which does not mean that you should reject the one you did not choose. Loving literature is not at odds with science, at least in my case. Enjoying poetry, feeling a drama or being entertained by a thriller is not exclusive to anyone, and writing literary fiction is not exclusive to anyone either.

3– I think there are quite a few prejudices about this, aren’t there? The thing about always separating letters from numbers…

Without a doubt. In this case, once again, the need that we humans have to classify is evident. As knowledge has grown, knowledge has had to be separated; nowadays it is impossible to know everything, much less to delve into all knowledge. At some point in our lives we must choose where to direct our studies, but doing so does not imply that we disdain the option not chosen. Many of my science colleagues love to read and enjoy literature, I am even convinced that they would do well writing and do not do so for various reasons. In ancient times, this distinction between numbers and letters was much more diffuse; it was a necessity to separate them, not an incompatibility. Prejudices are not justified, in this either.

4– Returning to the work, how did the idea of ​​combining elements of thriller with a tragicomic and satirical approach?

Lorenzo and Ignacio (the protagonists of the novel) are the ones who in one way or another have marked the times, even the literary style of “La duda”. To present these characters I thought it appropriate to do so under a tragicomic approach, I think it is the appropriate style for the reader to get to know them in depth, in essence. But once the plot develops, the thriller style appears because the rhythm and the story demand it. I know that it is risky in the publishing world to mix genres, but as I said in the previous question, I try to stay away from prejudices, I write what I feel like as a writer and as a reader, I seek to entertain, suggest, make people think and awaken emotions, and in this case I have seen it appropriate to mix genres.

5- Favorite character of The doubt?

Lorenzo and Ignacio, the two main characters. They are the reason I got into the world of literature. I have a huge affection for them. I don’t think any character I create from now on will inspire such affection in me. Although you never know.

They are two fictional characters, Ignacio, even, a crazy being, but if the reader delves deeper into them, he will be able to see that they are more common characters than they may seem, in fact, they are created from a multitude of images, attitudes and behaviors of very real beings that I have observed throughout my life. I encourage the reader to get to know them.

6– And now, The doubt You’re going to Amazon, right? Why?

Yes, we have decided to reissue The doubt And we are going to do it with Amazon. We want to give it a new look, to make it more accessible to the reader, to try to make it more known, and we believe that Amazon gives us more possibilities in this regard.

7- Why did you also see the need to write a sequel?

The main unknowns that appear throughout The doubt They are resolved, as many readers have told me, in an unexpected and surprising ending, just as I had intended, which satisfies me enormously. Despite this, there are still some questions that have appeared throughout the novel, pending resolution. It was not a preconceived idea, but they arose in the development of the plot.

However, I was not sure whether to write a second part to definitively close the plot or leave it as is, but the insistence of many readers not to leave them with these questions was a definitive push to clear up my doubt and encourage me to write the sequel. In reality, the novel has become a book of more than eight hundred pages divided into two volumes. The doubt This is the first part and I hope that the second will be available to readers soon.